Week 1: Vocab

Meditation: What It Can Do For You by Daniel Cohen

1-125

1. mantra (2)-a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation.
2. whirling (5)- move or cause to move rapidly around and around.
3. plunges (8)- jump or dive quickly and energetically.
4. contend (14)- struggle to surmount.
5. essence (16)- the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character.
6. diabolical (19)-belonging to or so evil as to recall the Devil.
7. roshis (20)-the spiritual leader of a community of Zen Buddhist monks.
8. dervishes (24)- a member of a Muslim religious order who has taken vows of poverty and austerity
9. adequately (30)- to a satisfactory or acceptable extent.
10. shrouded (31)-cover or envelop so as to conceal from view.
11. precentent (35)-an earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances.
12. creed (37)- a system of Christian or other religious belief; a faith.
13. doctrines (42)- a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.
14. connotes (44)- imply or suggest.
15. ascetic (52)- characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.
16. garb (55)- clothing or dress, especially of a distinctive or special kind.
17. ashrams (57)- a hermitage, monastic community, or other place of religious retreat.
18. discourse (68)-written or spoken communication or debate.
19. chakras (73)- each of the centers of spiritual power in the human body, usually considered to be seven in number.
20. dubbed (82)- give an unofficial name or nickname
21. retain (89)- keep possession of.
22. austerities (92)-sternness or severity of manner or attitude.
23. assailed (106)-make a concerted or violent attack on.
24. pew (112)- a long bench with a back, placed in rows in the main part of some churches to seat the congregation.